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ANNIVEESAET 



OF THE 



Wflint0n K?0ngngati0nal l&l^ttrt]^. 



^m§ 



HELD IN 



OLZisTTOisr, ooisrisr., 



November i^th, 1861. 



NEW HAVEN: 
TUTTLE, MOREHOUSE & TAYLOR, STEAII PRINTERS. 

18 6 8. 






/^3s^/^ 



PRELIMINARY MEETING. 



At a meeting of the Church and Congregation, Sep- 
tember 15, 1867, it was voted, that the Two Hundredth 
Anniversary of the organization of this Church be 
celebrated with appropriate exercises ; and that a Com- 
mittee be appointed to make the necessary arrange- 
ments. Gen. Ely A. Elliot, Hon. Henry Taintor, Dr. 
D. H. Hubbard, George B. Hilliard, Esq., Capt. Dota L. 
Wright, and Rev. William_E. Brooks, were appointed 
said Committee. 

October 14th, Committee met at the residence of 
Gen. Ely A. Elliot, and selected the 13th of Novem- 
ber, 1867, for the Bi-Centennial Anniversary. 

Voted, That the Rev. Wm. E. Brooks be invited to 
prepare and deliver the Bi-Centennial Address. 

Voted, That this Address be delivered at 10 and 1-2 
o'clock, A. M., to be followed by a Collation served in 
the basement of the Church. The afternoon to be 
devoted to short speeches from invited guests. 

Voted, That a Committee of twelve be appointed to 
arrange the tables, and direct the entertainment. 

Voted, That Messrs. George E. Elliot, Alfred Davis, 
Ely Stannard, Jared Buell, Andrew J. Hurd, Samuel 
L. Stevens, Jr., Mrs. Henry A. Elliot, Mrs. Ely Stan- 
nard, Mrs. Jared Buell, Mrs. Leander Hull, Mrs. Silas 
Stannard, Mrs. Andrew J. Hurd, be said Committee. 

D. H. Hubbard, Secretary. 



At an adjourned meeting held November 19, 1867, 
it was voted, that the very interesting Address by the 
Rev. Wm. E. Brooks, be pubhshed, and that a copy be 
requested for publication. 

Voted, That the programme of the public exercises 
of said day, be also published with the Address. 

Ely a. Elliot, 

Henry Taintor, 

D. H. Hubbard, ) Committee. 

George B. Billiard, 

DoTA L. Wright, 

D. H. Hubbard, Secretary. 



ANNIVERSARY. 



The decorations of the Church for this festive occa- 
sion, were entrusted to a committee consisting of Mrs. 
Wm. E. Brooks, Mrs. Leander Hull, Miss Mary Leffing- 
well and Miss Roxanna Buell. They were assisted in 
the execution of their work, by a large number of the 
young ladies and gentlemen connected with the Church 
and. Congregation, who brought willing hearts and 
ready hands to the task. 

The building is a parallelogram, sixty-nine feet by 
forty, having a gallery on three sides, east, west and 
south. The north end being occupied by a recess for 
the pulpit and the platform. 

The faces of these galleries were festooned with heavy 
ropes of the Q-round Pine. Each loop encircling the 
name of one of the previous Pastors of this Church, 
commencing on the right hand as you enter, with 
WooDBRiDGE, and following round with Pierson, Eliot, 
Huntington, Mansfield, TalcoTt, Wood, Foster, Hine, 
Huntington, 2d, to the opposite, side, where it 
ended with Moore. Brooks, the name of the pres- 
ent beloved Pastor, appeared in large letters on the 
front of the Pulpit. The letters which composed these 
names were formed of the shining, dark green leaves 
of the Mountain Laurel. This produced a very beauti- 
ful effect, as each name, encircled by its evergreen 
wreath, stood out clear and distinct on the white back- 
ground. Mrs. Henry Taintor contributed two Harps 



6 

wrought of Laurel, with minute flowers of Golden 
Immortelles for strings. These were placed on each 
side of the south gallery, devoted to singers. The un- 
fading Laurel, a beautiful symbol, that the memory of 
the lives of the departed shall remain evergreen in the 
hearts of the people ; although long ere this, all but 
two have gone to strike their Golden Harps where 
Flowers Immortal bloom. 

The decorations over the Pulpit were designed by 
Miss Roxanna Buell, and consisted of an Arch on the 
front of the recess, reaching half way down the side. 
On the right hand of the speaker, the base rested on an 
oil painting of the Church edifice erected in Seventeen 
Hundred and Thirty-one.''' On the speaker's left, at 
the base of the Arch, was a fine portrait of the Rev. 
Dr. Jared Elliot. Directly under the centre of the 
Arch, and following its curve, was a section of a few 
feet, the whole covered with white, and wreathed 
with a heavy border of the Ground Pine, interspersed 
with the shining red berries of the Bitter-sweet. On 
the outer Arch was inscribed in letters of Laurel, 
similar to those before mentioned, this motto : 

"HE WHO PLANTED HAS SUSTAINED." 

On the right hand side of the under section, was the 
date 1667, wrought in Autumn leaves. On the left, in 
leaves of Laurel, was the date 1867. Between them, 
and directly in the centre, were two hands, clasped. 
The one representing 1667, was composed of Autumn 

*December 24, 1730. * * * It was also agreed .by voat, 

that in case they build a new meeting house, it shall be set on the hill 
where the meeting house now standeth where it shall be judged most 
convenient. It was also agreed that sd meeting house should be 60 foots 
in length, 38 foots in breadth, and 22 foots between joynts, and a suitable 
turrit to be carryed out at one end suitable to hang ye Bell in. 



leaves. The one representing 1867, of Laurel. The 
whole speaking plainly this sentiment: — 1667 in the 
sere and yellow leaves of the past, reaches down Two 
Hundred Years, and with its withered hand, clasps the 
jfifesh vigorous hand of 1867, bringing this congratula- 
tory message : Although bitter has been mingled with 
the sweet in past experiences, still, He who planted has 
sustained. Yea, and will sustain, until we exchange 
the Laurel of Time for the Tree of Life in Eternity. 

On the left hand side of the platform below the 
Pulpit, was a pannel, taken from the Rev. Dr. Jared 
Elliot's house, on which was painted a view of the hill,* 
and of the second Church, erected in Seventeen Hun- 
dred. Seated on a rock in front of the house, is Dr. 
Elliott, and either he was a very large man, or the 
Church was very small, or the artist had some singular 
notions of perspective, as the Rev. gentleman's head is 
on a level with the eaves of the buildino;. Hoverino; in 
the air is an American eagle, which the artist must have 
seen in a prophetic vision, so large is he painted. The 
ledges of rocks on the east bank of Indian River, are 
clearly defined and easily recognized. This painting 

* Whereas the town, at a town meeting December 6th, 1698, had 
agreed to have an addition to the meeting house by gallaryes, the towns 
men, who were imployed there in, meeting with difficulties in their way, 
whether the town ware not better to buld a New meeting house then to 
make an Addition to the old by gallaries, this the town, haveing ben now 
called to gather to considar, they have now by thur voat agreed to buld a 
New meeting house, and they have agreed that the meeting house shall 
be five & thirty foots square, and to stand whare the old house now stands 
or whear convenient their unto." 

At a town meeting in Killingworth, January 28, 1728, * * * * 
Also it was agreed by voat, that the meeting house shall be repaired as to 
the walling and covering, so as to secure it from being Damnified by the 
weather. 



8 

was executed by an artist from Boston, in the year 
1710, — and is a curiosity. 

On the right hand of the platform stood the old 
chair of Rector Pierson, kindly loaned for the occasion 
by Yale College, and occupied by Prof. D. C. Gilman, 
as its representative. 

The occasion was one of the most heartfelt interest. 
The spirits of the men whose names we had before us, 
and whose lives and noble deeds we had assembled to 
commemorate, appeared to be with us. By some mag- 
netic influence we seemed to be put in direct communi- 
cation with the Spirit Land, and messages of Hope, 
and Love, and Cheer lifted our souls far above the 
ordinary level of existence. Great praise is due to the 
Rev. Wm. E. Brooks, for the able manner in which he 
performed his part as historian. Few could have so 
grasped the spirit of the lives and achievements of 
these departed worthies, and have brought it so 
eloquently before us. The hearts of the crowded 
audience were stirred with emotion, and smiles and 
tears held alternate sway. 



ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES. 



The Exercises of the Bi-Centenial Celebration of the 
Clinton Congregational Church, were held in their 
house of worship, the Thirteenth of November, Eigh- 
teen Hundred and Sixty-eight. A most unusual and 
unseasonable storm of snow prevailed throughout the 
previous day. During the nighty however, the storm 
ceased, and the morning of the Thirteenth rose clear 
and bright, with the thermometer nearly at zero, and a 
hard frozen crust of snow on the ground. Despite the 
unpropitious weather, the Church was filled to over- 
flowing. 

The Choir, under the direction of Mr. Elias M. Dib- 
bell, opened the morning service with the old tune of 
"Denmark," "Before Jehovah's awful throne." 

Invocation by Rev. Wm. E. Brooks. 

Singing. — Hymn composed by Miss Wealtha Maria 
Hilliard. 

Tune— "AMERICA." 
" Our fathers' God, to thee, 
lu this, our jubilee, 

To thee we sing; 
Thy holy name we praise 
In our most joyful lays, 
For all thy wondrous ways, 

Great God, our King. 

" Our kindred hearts here meet 
And hold commnnioa sweet 

Friend with his friend, 
^Vhile from the courts above 
5?hy smiles, God of love, 
Our worship to approve, 

On us descend. 



10 

" Thy grace, God, impart, 
Unto each waiting heart 

Before thee now. i 

Do thou our praises own. 
And let thy power be shown, 
While here before thy throne 

We humbly bow. \: 

"Help us to serve thee still, 
Teach us to do thy will 

In all our ways : 
And thus, a light divine, 
Reflected, Lord, from thine, 
O'er all our lives shall sliino 

Through endless days." 

Reading of the Scriptures and Prayer, by the Rev. 
James D. Moore. Psahn read, the 90th, commencing 
with " Oh ! Lord thou hast been our dwelUng place in 
all generations." 

HYMN. 

God of our fatliers, to thy throne 
Our grateful songs we raise; 
Thou art our God, — and thou alone, — 
Accept our humble praise. 

Here thou wert once the pilgrim's guide ; 
Tliou gav'st them here a place. 
Where freedom spreads its blessings wide, 
O'er all their fayored race. 

Here, Lord, thy gospel's holy light 
• Is shed on all our hills ; 

And, like the rains and dews of night 
Celestial grace distills. 

Still teach us. Lord, thy name to fear 
And still our guardian be ; 
0, let our children's children here, 
Forever worship thee. 



HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 



INTRODUCTION. 

In giving a Historical Sketch of this Church on this, its 
Two Hundredth Anniversary, I shall be forced to throw myself 
on your Christian charity and your kindly forbearance. 

The few months which have elapsed since my settlement 
here, and the brief time allowed me to collect and arrange the 
materials from which a history might be written, must be my 
apology for whatever lack of detail there may be, and the 
passing by of most important and interesting facts. But what 
I have been able to accomplish in the time allotted me, and 
amid the pressure of other duties, I will now place before you. 

It gives me great pleasure to acknowledge the assistance 
which I have received from the older members of the Church, 
in respect to the former pastors, and the events of by-gone 
days ; and my indebtedness to the Rev. J. D. Moore for the 
information I have obtained from the Historical Sketches 
which were published in *' The Clinton Advertiser ;" to these 
persons, in a great measure, is due whatever of interest there 
may be in the present Discourse. 



DISCOURSE. 

"Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.''— 
Ps. xc : 1. 

The statement has somewhere been made, that the history 
of the world is but a history of God's Church : and so it may 
be said with especial truth, that the history of this town is to 
a great extent the history ot this Church, and so closely are 
they united, that a brief notice of the former is essential to a 
clear and full knowledge of the latter. 



12 

Tlie first name of this place was Hammonassett, so called 
after a tribe of Indians that lived upon these hills and roamed 
along these shores. 

In 1663, at the October Session of the General Court that 
convened at Hartford, it was resolved, " that there should be 
a plantation formed at Hammonassett, and S. Willis, Mr. 
Wolcott, and Wm. Wadsworth, were appointed a committee 
for the ordering of the plantation at Hammonassett," who con- 
cluded on nine binding articles to be observed. 

The 9th was, " That there shall be thirty families on the 
east side of Hammonassett Kiver at the least." 

The committee then entered twenty as planters. Soon after, 
ten of this number deserted the place ; and it was not till 
December, 1665, two years after the grant of the Assembly, 
that the required number of families had located themselves 
upon the *^' new plantation ;" and even then it was necessary 
to call the parsonage lot 29, and the minister's first lot 30. 

The 7th article read thus : " They shall settle an able, 
orthodox, godly minister, free from scandal, with the advice of 
the major part of the magistrates of Connecticut." Thus we 
see that this Church was provided for at the very outset, and 
formed, if I may so speak, a part of the town, so that, as 
stated at the first, the one is inseparably linked to the other. 
And there can be no doubt that among the first buildings 
erected was the " Meeting House," small in size, but sufii- 
ciently large to accommodate the few, who were here to attend 
church,* till 1700, when the "new meeting house was built."f 

* At a Town meting: November: 15th : 1703, the town have agreed, 
and Conchied by their voate to have a scoU houes bult : of sixteen foot 
square besides rome for the chimmie, and to be set on the meting houes 
hill whear judged most conveniant— allso the town have agreed : and 
voted that they wold have a skol : keept this year ackording to Law : and 
on halfe of the time to be keept in the winter and the other in the sumer. 
All so Atenry Crane Senior is voted and made Choyce of for a skoll mas- 
ter for the year insuing, for a leven shillings per weaek. 

All so town voted to take down the old meting hous and to improve it 
to buld a skool houes. 

t Town meeting, Kenillworth, January the 18: 1704: * * 

The town have agreed with Samuel Buell Senior to hew Draw and 



13 

The Rev. Mr. Moore, in his historical sketches, states that 
previous to the organization of the Church, a Mr. John Col- 
ton labored among the people ; but who he was, whence he 
came or whither he went, I know not, as I have been unable 
to learn anything more concerning him. It is quite evident, 
however, that they were wont to hold weekly service, for on 
the 28th of Sept., 1666, " the town bargained and agreed with 
Nathan Parmelee for forty shillings per year to beat the drum 
Sabbath days, for the -calling of the people together, and to 
maintain the drum at his expense ;" and it is more than prob- 
able that this custom continued till a bell was procured, for 
on April 14th, 1668, " The town agreed with Samuel Glris • 
wold to beat the drum Sabbath days for one year and to give 
him one pound and ten shillings,"* a novel and curious way of 
calling people to the worshij) of God. 

The first two recorded votes for the support of the ministry 
were the following: "Feb. 7th, 1667. The town voted to 
free Mr. Woodbridge from paying any rate for two hundred 
Pounds estate, during his abode with us." 

2d. The town voted to give him (Mr. Woodbridge,) " Fifty- 
five Pounds for the ensuing year, and parsonage land and his 
transportation and a house ; and further, it is left with tho 
committee, if he will not come for the above said sum, to give 
him five Pounds more," — exhibiting even at that early day, 
Yankee shrewdness in trade making. 

The plantation continued to be known as Hammonassett till 
not far from May, 1667, when it " was called Kenilworth, 
after a town in Warwickshire, England, from which, according 
to tradition, some of the settlers at first emigrated." The 

frame timbar for a school houes of twenty one foots, in length, sixteen 
foot wide, the timbar to be soficent and Drawen to the place appointed 
by the town for the skoole hous to stand, this to be finished at or before 
the last of Aprill next, and for his satisfaction the town have agreed to 
give him the frame of the old meeting house, and thirty five shillings in 
Currant paye next year. 

* In the Town Records is found the following : 
" Ac a town meeting, December 6th, 1698. # # * 

the town have agreed that there shall be a new Drum bought for the 
town." 



14 

name was gradually changed from Kenil worth, being spelt 
sometimes Kenelworth, Kenellworth, "and in the State 
records, Kenelmeworth until the year 1707. In that year Sar- 
jant John Crane was chosen Town ' Clark.' From that time 
the name in his hand writing is Killingworth, and has remain- 
ed so ever since." 

It was, as I have already stated, in February, 1667, that 
the town voted to secure the services of Mr. Woodbridge ; and 
in October, of the same year, the following petition was for- 
warded to the General Assembly, which convened at Hartford 
on the tenth of that month : 

" May it please the Honored Court : Whereas the plenary enjoyment 
of all the sacred ordinances and institutions of Christ, and all possible 
communion with him therein, is that one thing that we should desire and 
seek after, and all tedious and unnecessary remissenesse in the prosecution 
of so sacred a designe, grandly culpable ; and forasmuch as the Honored 
General Court haue formerly in their wisdome established that no persons 
or inhabitants within this Colony imbody themselves in a Church without 
their favorable approbation ; we the inhabitants of the Town of Ken- 
elmeworth, in obedience to so, not more just then, necessary a law, 
humbly craue and entreat their benigne aspect and approving allowance 
of so profitable and desirable a work as the gathering of ourselves into 
Church order, for the full and regular enjoyment of the aforesaid ordi- 
nances and institutions. As we therefore beseech your acceptance of us 
and incouragement to us in this proceeding, so we humbly implore the 
Eye of Almighty God to guide you in all your affaires. 

JOHN WOODBRIDGE, 
EDWARD GRISWOLD, 
• WILL HEAYDEN. 

" In the name & with the consent of the rest." 
"Oct. nth, '67. 

This petition was forwarded to the General Court which had 
assembled at Hartford the day previous, and was granted in 
the following words : 

" This Court, upon the petition of the inhabitants of Kenilworth, doe 
hereby declare and give them theire approbation and encouragement to 
gather themselves into Church order according to the order of the 
Gospell." 



15 

The i^recise day on wliich the Church was organized, I have 
not been able to learn ; but as the petition was not signed till 
the 11th of October,. (0. S.,) which would be the 22d, (N. S.,) 
and as Dr. Field, in his History of Middlesex County, says 
that it was within a few weeks, it was probably not far from 
this time, if not on this very day of the month, that the 
Church was organized. 

Two hundred years ago, then, it may be to a day, on this 
hill, and near the spot we now occupy, this Church was duly 
established, and John Woodbridge, a young man of twenty- 
three, was ordained and installed its first jDastor, concerning 
whom, I learn from Dr. Spragiic's Annals, (Vol. 1st, page 129, 
&c.,) that he was the grandson of the Rev. John Woodbridge, 
a distinguished Non-conforming minister, and that his grand- 
mother was the daughter of the Rev. Robert Parker, who by 
his writino-s is well known to have been a strong friend and 
advocate of non-conformity. His father, whose name was also 
John, was born at Stanton, Wiltshire, England, about the 
year 1613, and was sent to Oxford to be educated, but, when 
the oath of conformity was required of him he refused, and 
was therefore obliged to leave the University. He then j)ur- 
sued his studies privately. " The ceremonies of the Church 
being rigorously enforced," and being deeply imbued with the 
spirit of dissent, he came to this country in company with his 
uncle, Rev. Thomas Parker, in 1634. In 1641 he married the 
daughter of the Hon. Thomas Dudley, and was ordained and 
installed first pastor of the Church in Andover, Mass., where 
John Woodbridge, the first pastor of this Church was born, in 
1644, and graduated at Harvard College, in 1664. During a 
portion of the next three years, he was doubtless devoting him- 
self to the study of Theology, and became first pastor of this 
Church in 1667. "At his settlement he had allotted to him 
eight acres of land as a home lot, located on Main street, rest- 
ing on South street, in compliance with a vote passed February 
15th, 1664 :" 

"That the first minister that is called and settled amongst us shall 
haue the lott that lyes by the high way that goes down to the landing 
place." 



16 

Besides, I find that he was allowed to take up and hold land 
the same as any other citizen, as the grant made by the Gene- 
ral Court in 1671, proves : — 

"The Court grants Mr. John Woodbridge, of Kenilworth, 250 acres 
of land for a farm, provided he take it up where it may not prejudice any 
former grant to any plantation or perticuler person." 

In March, 1669, the town voted to give him "£60 towards 
the building of him a dwelling." His salary at this time was 
£60 per year, and fifty loads of wood. He first lived near 
where Elias Wellman now lives, and afterwards on the corner 
now known as the Stanton place. For twelve years he was 
pastor of this Church, and then, for reasons unknown to me, 
and contrary to the wishes of his flock, he resigned, and the 
same year (1679) was installed pastor of the Church in Weth- 
ersfield, where he remained till his death, in 1690, being about 
forty-six years of age. 

His son, John Woodbridge, married Jemima Eliot, daugh- 
ter of the Eev. Joseph Eliot, of Guilford, and grand-daughter 
of the Apostle Eliot ; and it may be of interest to you to 
learn that the town of Woodbridge, near New Haven — for- 
merly Amity — was so named in honor of Benjamin Wood- 
bridge, the first, and for forty-three years the only, pastor of 
the Church in that place, who was the grand-son of the first 
pastor of this Church ; and that on this Ibth day of Novem- 
ber, 1867, they are celebrating the 125th Anniversary of that 
Church. 

So much in respect to him whose name stands first on the 
list, both as member and jjastor ; and his worthy descent, 
together with the results of his labors, prove that he was 
indeed one of " the most excellent clergymen of Connecticut." 

The first private donation or gift to the Church for the sup- 
port of the ministry, was made by William Kelsey, and that 
you may know in what form it was made, I will give his words, 
as found in the " Old Church Records :" — 

" Know all men by these presents : — that I, William Kelsey, of Kil- 
lingworth, being desireous to promote Religion and the maintainance 
thereof according to my Power, do freely give, to be paid yearly and for- 



17 

ever after my decease. Twenty Shillings in current country pay, to the 
Church of Killingworth, for the use of the ministery that shall from time 
to time be there called, and for the ensurance thereof I do firmly bind 
over my Land in the Neckfield, purchased of John Meigs, Jnr., unto the 
Church of Killingworth, and do give full Power to him or them that are 
or from Time to time shall be. Deacons of the said Church, or in Case of 
their absence, to any two of the Brethren thereof to demand, recover or 
dispose of the money as aforesaid, and upon refusal to pay or in Case of 
Non-solvency, to seize upon the Land and to use and improve it as they 
see cause, for the aforesaid end. 

In witness whereof I do hereunto set my hand this present June 6th, 
1674. 

WILLLAM KELCEY." 

This land was " resign^^d up into the Church," in May, 1676, 
by his son, John Kelcey. 

It was a sad misfortune for the Church to lose Mr. Wood- 
bridge. After his departure, dissensions and divisions sprang 
up, and it was not till 1694, fifteen years after, that they suc- 
ceeded in securing as their second pastor, Abraham Pieison, 
' the son of the Kev. Abraham Pierson, who was minister suc- 
cessively at Southampton, L. I., Branford, Ct., and Newark, 
N. J.' He was born probably at Southampton — though Dr. 
Sprague says at Lynn, Mass., — in 1646, being thus two years 
younger than Mr. Woodbridge, and graduated at Harvard Col- 
lege in 1668. "He began to preach in 1669, and received a 
unanimous call from the people of Woodbridge, N. J., to 
become their pastor. But the people of his father's congrega- 
tion, desiring him for an assistant, at once made overtures to 
bim to be ' helpful to his father, in the exercise of his gifts in 
the ministry, for the space of a year.' " In 1672 they extended 
to him a formal call to become his father's colleague, which he 
accepted. On the death of his father, in August, 1678, he 
became sole pastor, and his salary was fixed at £80 per year, 
"with a supply of fire wood, and freedom from taxation." 
He continued their pastor till 1692, when, on account of dif- 
ference* of opinion in respect to church government, he was 
dismissed. He immediately disposed of his proi)crty in New- 
ark, and came into this State, and became, as already stated, 
the second pastor of this Church, in 1694. 
2 



18 

He very happily succeeded in reconciling the differences 
which existed in the Church, and soon gained both the confi- 
dence and love of his people. At this time there were efi'orts 
being made to establish a College in Connecticut, in which he 
took a great interest. In 1700 he was chosen as one of those 
ministers who were designated by public consent to act as 
Trustees "to found, erect and govern a College." At a session 
of the G-eneral Colonial Assembly at New Haven, in October, 
1701, a petition was presented to that body, signed by many 
ministers anl others, which stated, — 

" That from a sincere regard to and zeal for upholding the Protestant 
religion, by a succession of learned and orthodox men, they had proposed 
that a Collegiate School should be erected in this Colony, wherein youth 
should be instructed in all parts of learning to qualify them for public 
employments in Church and Civil State ; and that they had nominated 
ten ministers to be trustees, partners or undertakers for founding, endow- 
ing or ordering the said School, and thereupon desired that full liberty 
and privilege might be granted to the said undertakers for that end." 

On the 9th of the same month, the Assembly granted the 
desired charter ; and at a meeting of the trustees on the 7th 
of November, 1701, Mr. Pierson was chosen to take charge of 
the College " in its instruction and government, with the title 
of Eector." Their choice was regarded as a happy one, as Mr, 
Pierson was both a fine scholar and took a deep interest in the 
cause of education. He had even then prepared a work on- 
Natural Philosophy, which he introduced in the College, and 
which continued as a manual in that department for many 
years. The College building was established here in what was 
then Killingworth, near the edge of the Green, and a little 
south and east from the barn which stands on the Stanton 
Place, some of the beams of which are still to be seen in the 
" Stanton House;" The building has been torn down within 
the memory of some of the older members of this congrega- 
tion ; so that the statement made by Dr. Sprague, that Mr. 
Pierson heard the recitations in his own house, is in j^art an 
error. 

Not only did the Church prosper under his ministry, but the 
cause of education received an impulse which continues to be 



19 

felt. It was during his pastorate that the old church building 
was torn down, and the second one was erected, (1700,) for 
which a bell — one of the first in Connecticut — was procured in 
1703 ; in respect to which the following action of the town 
may be of interest : — 

" At a meeting of the town held August 2oth, 1703, * * # * 
it was offered unto the town, by several of the neighbors which had by 
subscription purchased a Bell in order to be hung np in the meting Jwues, 
whether they would accept of said Bell and hang it at the town charge, 
which was consented unto and voted."* 

The following action of the town, on the 14th of December, 
1695, shows how closely at that time the town and church 
were united : — 

" The town being met together to consider of something to be done 
for the encouragement of Mr. Abraham Pierson, our present minister in 
his settlement with us — Do give the said Mr. Pierson the Town House 
and Orchard . . . upon the condition hereinafter named, that is to sav, 
that the said Mr. Pierson shall plant an orchard of an hundred apple 
trees upon the parsonage land, where the town shall judge most conveni- 
ent, and the said trees to manure and secure." — (" Town Records.") 

But while the interests of both the Church and the College 
were in a most flourishing condition, the i5eoj)le of Saybrook 
felt anxious that the College should be removed to their town, 
which, as it would deprive them of a much loved pastor, the 
people of Killingworth bitterly opposed. Nay, more, they 
were unwilling that he should continue its Eector. At a town 

* At a town meetin in Killingworth, December ye 29th, 1724. 
***** 

"It was also voated that the town will be at the cost of haveing the 
bell belonging to the meeting house in Killingworth, new cast, or run 
with the adition of fifty pounds of Copper and one quarter so much 
puter, and that they will Imploy Mr. Liscome of Saybrook to Do the 
sd work, upon condition sd Liscome will do sd work for twelve pounds, if 
he will efect the same and that he will Demand nothing for his Labor if 
he fails in the well performanc of sd work." * * # * 

Also ye meeting was adjourned untel ye 11th Day of this Instant 
november at sun two Hours high at night. 



20 

meeting held November 7th, 1706, he sent to them a request, 
in behalf of the trustees, that they would allow the College to 
remain in Killingworth, under his care. Even this they were 
unwilling to grant. It was while matters were in this dis- 
turbed state — his flock calling in one direction and the inter- 
ests of education in another — that he sickened and died, fall- 
ing asleep on the 5th of March, 1707, at the age of sixty-one. 
His grave is in the north-western part of the cemetery, sur- 
rounded by the remains of those he loved, and may the day be 
not far distant, when a monument more worthy of his mem- 
ory and record, shall mark the jjlace where lived and labored 
Abraham Pierson, the second pastor of this Church, and first 
President of Yale College,* 

* Knowing that all lovers of Yale College feel a deep interest in what- 
ever pertains to its early history, has prompted to a careful searching of 
the early Town Records, wherein the following letters and votes have 
been found recorded : — 
" To the Inhabitants of Killingworth : 

Sirs, — Whareas I perceive that there is a misapprehention of my 
Answer at New Haven to the Reverend trustees of the Collegiate School, 
which was latly published, in part among you, I do declare as followith, 
viz, that in their motion to me there ware two things ; i : their Desire 
that I should take the care and conduct of the said school. 2, that I 
should remove with the school to the place by them appointed for it. to 
the 1st of these I Answered as you have heard; the true meaning whereof 
was, that I Durst not Deny a Divine call to attend that work so far as 
was consistent with my ministerial work among you : and accordingly I 
have endeavoured to practise ever since. To the 2nd of them, not Dis- 
carning a present call thereunto; after much perswasion and pressing to 
it, my Answer was to act therein as god should open my way : in which 
opening of my way, I ever included, your consent to my removal and 
never obliged rnvself to Remov without it, and by your consent I mean 
your General and Joyant consent, and not mearly a major part of you 
consenting ; that as through Divine favour I have lived among you in 
peace, now about a : 1 1 : years, so if I be removed from you, which is 
not at all of my seeking, I may leave you in peace, and have hope that 
the god of peace will be with you, and as a testimony of your general 
and joynt consent to my Removal, (if I do remove,) I expect your 
ingagement by sufficient sureties to Reimburse and according to a gree- 
ment, without which I shall not part with the house, and with out this 



21 

In regard to his person Dr. Field thus speaks : " He was 
above a middling stature, was fleshy and well favored. As a 
Christian he was charitable and pious ; in preaching he 
excelled, and by his character and talents was excellently 
qualified for the station to which he was advanced." Pres. 
Clapp says : " He was a hard student, a good scholar, a great 
divine, and a wise, steady and judicious man in all his conduct. 

ingagement I shall not think I have a sufficient expression of your consent 
to my removal. 

ABRAHAM PIERSON. 
September 21 : 1705." 

To this letter the town made reply that, " We do declare that it is 
our opinion that it is not, or like to be consistent with your ministerial 
work amongst us to attend sd school as heitherto." They also made 
reply to his request, in case of their consenting to his removal, that they 
should reimburse him for his house, " that we shall not endeavor to act 
in that matter any firther than we have allreadv Don, 

This voted in town meting November 25th 1705." 

" At the above meeting (November 7th, 1706) it was proposed to the 
town by the Desire of Mr. Pierson in the behalf of the trustees, for the 
town's allowance for the Collegiate Scool to be & remain here under the 
care & conduct of the Reverend Mr. Pierson : the town have Declared 
by their vote that they are not willing to allowe that the School be keept 
hear as it has been." 

At a town Meting in Kenillworth, December the 24th, 1706. 
* * * * 

Also the town Did make Choyce of Decon Griswold, Robert Lane, 
Sarjt John Shether, Sarjt Sam. Stevens, and Sarjt John Crane, as a Com- 
ity to consider of, and draw up sum terms or proposalls for the town to 
consider of with Respect to the allowance of the Collegiate School Being 
here under the care and conduct of Mr. Pierson, and to make return 
thear of to the next town meting." 

What action would have been taken is uncertain. Mr. Pierson dying 
in March after, put a stop to all further proceedings. There can be no 
doubt that Mr. Pierson exerted a great influence in arousing the people 
of this town to a higher regard to the demands of Education. This is 
indicated by the fact that in 1696, two years after his settlement, "the 
town concluded by their voat to hire mr. Brown to keep skoul for one 
quarter of a year, and for his pains there in to give him nine pounds : the 
one half of it to be paid by the skollers and the other halfe by the town," 
this being the first school of which we have any record, and the first 
school house was built in 1703. 



22 

About fifty-four were gathered in during his ministry of 
about thirteen years ; a number, without doubt, equal to the 
whole membership at his coming. 

The third pastor was the Rev. Jared Eliot, D.D. and M. D., 
a grandson of the Apostle Eliot and son of the Rev. Joseph 
Eliot, of Guilford, where he was born on the 7th of Nov., 
1685. He graduated at Yale College in 1706, under President 
Pierson, by whom he was recommended to this Church as one 
in every respect worthy to become his successor and their 
pastor. Accordingly, in June following Mr. Pierson's death, 
a call was extended to Mr. Eliot ; but doubting his ability to 
fulfill so great a trust, he was not ordained till Oct. 26th, 
1709.* The following will give you a glimpse of the times in 
which he lived : 

"At a Town Meeting held in Killingworth Nov. 25th, 1608: The 
Town do agree to give to Mr. Jared Eliot when he, the said Jared Eliot, 
shall marry, or have a family, sixty loads of good fire wood a year." 

* " At a Town Meeting held in Killingworth, September ye 26 : 1709, 
the Town did by their vote conclude to Indever that Mr. Jared Eliot be 
settled a monst us in office, (or ordayed) on ye Last Wednesday of 
October next insueing. 

"Also the Town do agree that the Charge of the Ordaination of Mr. 
Eliot shall be boren or paid by a Rate Levied upon the Estates of ye 
subscribers to the Covenant in the Town, allwaye provided yt any other 
person is not bared from doing what they shall see cause. * * 

" Also that there shall be a foundation Laied for the Galleries on ye 
South Side in the Meeting House before the ordination of Mr. Eliot. 

"At a Town Meeting, March ye 7th, 1712, The town have agreed 
to finish ye for part of the Gallery in the meeting house, both stairs seats 
& banesters. 

" Also at the same meeting the town granted liberty to those persons 
that will appear to make or build the foundation of the galery on ye 
East & West Sides of ye meeting house and put up ye banesters, pro- 
vided they doe it upon their own cost and charg: not claiming perticuler 
right in the account thereof: The Town made choice of Leftt : Samuel 
Buel, Sargtt Josiah Stevens & Gersiam Palmer as a Comete to cary on 
the work of finishing fore gallery in the meeting house. 

"March ye 12th 1712 * * * * The Comite for finishing the 
frunt galery are appaynted to manag the other part of building & finish- 
ing sd Galiryes." 



23 

Two inferences readily suo;gest themselves. Either the peo- 
ple were anxious that he should fulfill the Scriptures by 
becoming the husband of one wife, or they thought he spent 
too much of his time in Guilford in the winning and enchant- 
ing society of Miss Elizabeth Smithson, to whom he was mar- 
ried Oct 26th, 1710. That the amount of wood first promised 
was insufficient is shown by the fact that on the 17th of Nov., 
1741— 

" £\o were appropriated to procure Mr. Eliot 8o loads of wood, at 
ten shillings per load, for the year ensuing ; and, if any person neglect 
his just proportion of wood to Mr. Eliot, as aforesaid, at or by ye first 
day of Jan. next coming, they shall pay their proportion to ye Minister's 
Collector to procure wood for Mr. Eliot." There was also, on the 14th 
of Dec. of the same year, a vote of "66120 to pay ye Rev, Mr. Eliot's 
Salary for ye year past, to be paid in Bills of publick credit, or in provis- 
ion, at the Current market price, exclusive of ye use of parsonage and his 
wood." 

It is stated that his early progress in letters was not rapid, 
but that what he once gained he never lost. The further he 
advanced in knowledge the stronger his mind became, and 
increased also in quickness of apprehension, and, at length, he 
acquired a gi-eatness and excellence rarely surpassed in this 
country. 

Rev. Thomas Ruggles, who preached his funeral sermon, 
said : " His person was well ^proportioned. The dignity, and 
gravity, and openness of his countenance were plain indications 
of the penetration of his mind, and the agreeable turn of his 
conversation. He was favored with an excellent bodily con- 
stitution. Idleness was his abhorrence, and every moment of 
time was filled with action by him. Perhaps no man slept so 
little in his day and did so much in so great a variety. His 
endowments of mind were no less superior than his bodily 
vigor. A sound mind in a sound body was what he was blest 
with ; and his great soul shined like the sun in the firmament 
with radiant luster. Always active, always bright and pleas- 
ant. He had a mind peculiarly adapted for conversation and 
happily accommodated to the pleasures of social life. Nothing 



24 

aiFected, nothing assumed. It was all nature. Divinity he 
made his chief study. He understood what he preached to 
others in a very large compass of knowledge, in the theory of 
Theology. He was truly a good preacher in a proper sense. 
Though he never studied to shine in rhetoric, and the enticing 
words of men's wisdom, yet his discourses were always instruc- 
tive and entertaining. Differences as to religious principles, 
were no obstruction to the hearty practice of the great law of 
love — true benevolence and true goodness to man — to every 
}aan. He abhorred narrowness and the mean contractedness 
(if party spirit. As he claimed the right to think and act for 
Idmself, so was he more than free to accord the same privilege 
to others. As a physician, he was quick to determine the 
nature of the disease, and to apply the proper remedy. He 
Yv'as especially successful in his treatment of that dread die- 
( ase — dropsy. His practice becoming extensive, he was called 
many miles from home ; and, that he might not lose time, he 
acquired the habit of reading on horseback. Here, also, he 
thought out many of his sermons/' He would, while traveling 
along, become so absorbed in thought, as to be entirely obliv- 
ious to what was taking place around him ; and his horse, 
taking advantage of this, was wont to stop and graze by the 
roadside, or turning into the field would pursue his own course, 
till Mr. Eliot, arousing up, would find himself — not as he 
hoped — many miles nearer his journey's end, but facing a hay- 
stack. ■••'•■ He possessed the power of losing himself in his subject. 

" Although so actively engaged, he was seldom absent from 
his charge on the Sabbath ; and for more than forty years of 
the latter part of his life, he never missed of preaching some 
part of every Sabbath, either at home or abroad." 

" He had a scientific turn of mind, and for discovering the 
fact that black sand might be wrought into iron, he received a 

* The following incident will illustrate another phase of his character : 
One Sabbath morning just before starting for Church, he discovered a 
rent in his long black silk stocking, which he repaired, not by calling in 
the aid of Mrs. Eliot, but by applying with his pen, ink to the exposed 
part, and with the rent thus concealed, he gave himself to the duties of 
the Sabbath, 



2^5 

gold medal from the society instituted in London fi)r the 
Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, — an 
honor seldom conferred on a citizen of this country. He was 
fond of society ; and by a pleasant and sociable temper con- 
nected with his talents, he was eminently qualified to secure 
and entertain friends. His acquaintances and correspondents 
were numerous, among whom were Dr. Franklin and Bishop 
Berkley. He was liberal. As a physician he did much with- 
out charge. But while he scattered, he increased ; and being 
a man of fine business talent, he acquired a large amount of 
land which proved a source of wealth to a large family." 

As might be supposed, the Church was greatly prospered, as 
is clearly shown by the fact that during his ministry of fifty- 
six years, some five hundred and twenty-seven were gathered in. 

For the last thirty-two years of his life he was a member of 
the Corporation of Yale College. 

His home was just across the street in front of the Church, 
and stood where the cottage occupied by the widow Dee now 
stands, — before which Nature has reared up a beautiful and 
graceful Elm — a living monument, and fit emblem of him, 
who, while he lived, was a joy to the sorrowing, a health-giver 
to the sick, a promoter of the sciences, a true lover of his 
country, a devoted follower of Christ, and a rich and lasting 
blessing to this Church. 

He died April 22d, 1763, aged 77 years and 5 months. 

The fourth pastor was the Rev. Eliphalet Huntington, who 
was born in Lebanon, Conn., in 1737, graduated at Yale Col- 
lege in 1759, and was licensed by the Hartford South Asso- 
ciation, Oct., 1761. 

On the 22d of May, 1763, just one month after the death of 
Dr. Eliot, he preached for the first time to this people, being 
hen in his twenty-sixth year. At a meeting of the Church, 
held on the 20th of December of the same year, it was 
voted, " That Mr. Eliphalet Huntington be desired to accept 
the united call of the First Society of Killingworth, and also to 
take the pastoral charge of this Church." He accepted, and 
was ordained and installed January 11th, 1764. 

There were two votes passed some two weeks after Mr. 
Huntington first preached here, which may be of interest : 



26 

" 1st. Voted that ye Committee are Desired to engage Mr. Hunting- 
ton for a longer term of time to supply ye pulpit. 

2d. Voted that ye Society are desireous of having the Funeral 
Sermon of ye Dr. Eliot printed and that ye Society are desired to apply 
to Revd Mr. Ruggles for a copy of the same, to be done at ye expense 
of ye Society." 

At a meeting held Jan. 17th, 1764, it was voted 

" That the Society's Committee take care and see that the Rev. Mr. 
Huntington be supplied with necessary fire wood for the current year, at 
the expense of the Society. 

He was voted c€200 for settlement, to be paid in annual payments of 
£^0. His salary was ; 

1st. <£:\.o per year, for four years, after which it should be £5650. 

2d. The use of parsonage land, calculated to be worth a yearly rent 
of ^625. 

4th. The Society likewise vote and grant for the further encourage- 
ment & support of sd Mr. Huntington necessary fire wood, during his 
continu in sd work, as aforesaid, according as he may stand in need of 
for his own use, not exceeding sixty cart loads annually, to be provided 
sumtime in the month of November annually." 

This was recorded Jan. 25, 1764. He was married April 24th, 
1766, being then about twenty-nine years of age, to Miss Sarah 
Eliot, grand-daughter of Rev. Dr. Eliot, who was not at that 
time quite fifteen, — almost if not quite justifying a remark she 
is said to have made, that " Mr. Huntington was old enough to 
be her father." He died of small-pox, Feb. 8, 1777, having 
been pastor of this Church a little more than thirteen years. 

In person he was large and portly, very pleasant and agree- 
able in his intercourse with all ; and won a place in the hearts 
of his people. "He was strongly attached to the doctrines of 
Grace, — a warm, zealous and eloquent preacher." He preached 
at the meeting of the General Association, which met in Nor- 
wich in 1775, from which I infer that he was regarded as " one 
of Connecticut's most able ministers." There were above sixty 
added to the Church during his pastorate. He lived in the 
house now occupied by Gen, E. A. Elliot. 

Achillies Mansfield was the fifth pastor. He was born at 
New Haven in 1751. Graduated at Yale College in 1770. 
Licensed by the New Haven East Association in 1775. Began 



27 

to preach fortius people the 17th of August, 1777, being- then 
twenty-six years of age. On the 17th of December, 1778, a 
call was given him to become pastor, which he accepted, and 
was ordained and installed January 6th, 1779. It was voted : 

" 1st. That there be given to Mr. Achillies Mansfield, on condition of 
his settling amongst us in the work of the Gospel Ministry, the sum of 
6oo ounces of silver, or in bills of credit to the value thereof, to be 
improved by him at his discretion, towards providing himself with a con- 
venient tenement for his accommodation among us, to be collected & 
paid in four equal payments annually. 

" 2d. That there be granted unto Mr. Mansfield as a yearly salary, 
for the four years first after his being regularly inducted into the work of 
the Gospel Ministry among us, the sum of 135 ounces of Silver or in Bills 
of Credit to the value thereof, to be paid Mr. Mansfield on the first day 
of January, annually, until the term of four years be completed ; and 
afi:er the expiration of four years coming, this Society do hereby grant to 
Mr. Mansfield the sum of 180 ounces of Silver annually, during his con- 
tinuance in the office of the Gospel Ministry among us ; & to be com- 
puted and paid to him in Wheat at the rate of 5 shillings per bushel; or 
Rye at three shillings per bushel ; or Indian Corn at 2 shillings per 
bushel ; or in Pork at four pence per pound ; or in Beef at two pence 
per pound ; or in other articles in like proportion ; or in Bills of Credit 
to the value thereof" 

He was also allowed the use of the Parsonage or Society 
lands, and the sixty cart loads of good wood annually. 

On March the 10th, 1779, he married the widow of the Eev. 
Eliphalet Huntington, by whom he had three children — Eliza- 
beth, who married Dr. Olcott ; Nathan, who graduated at 
Yale College m 1803, studied medicine, and died in 1813 ; and 
Susan, who married the Rev. Joshua Huntington, of Boston. 

A gentlemen, who was a member of his congregation and 
knew him well, has kindly furnished me the following : 

" The Rev. Achillies Mansfield was of medium height, of 
good form, and had a very pleasant countenance. He was 
courteous and affable in his manners, and upon all occasions 
gave good evidence of a sincere desire to promote the interest 
of his Master's Kingdom. His voice was good, being clear and 
full. In the delivery of his sermons he was lively and inter- 
esting and very punctual in the performance of all his duties 



28 

as pastor. In extempore speaking, at funerals and like occa- 
sions, lie had few equals ; for, possessing a tender and sympa- 
thetic heart, he felt keenly for those in affliction, and so, 
prompted by his own kindly nature, he was in an especial 
degree fitted to soothe and console the sorrowing. 

It was during his ministry that evening meetings were estab- 
lished, being held in the Old Stone School House which then 
stood a little east of the Church. He conducted the meetings 
thus : After the preliminary exercises, such as prayer and 
singing, he would read the chapter selected for the occasion 
and then explain it verse by verse, remaining seated. All who 
attended these exercises well remember, how, after reading a 
verse or two, he would stop, sit back, raise his spectacles, and 
then explain and enforce the truths of the passage. Few, if 
any, surpassed him in like efforts ; and the meetings were well 
attended and appreciated." 

He was six years a member of the Corporation of Yale Col- 
lege, being so at his death. He was faithful and attentive in 
the discharge of his duties to that Institution, and was ever 
desirous of promoting its interests. He was very popular with 
his associates, and his death was regarded as a severe loss to 
them and the flock which he loved. 

Dr. Field says : " He was a man distinguished for mild and 
pleasant manners, for uniformity and sweetness of disposition, 
and for the patient endurance of affliction." Here for thirty- 
seven years he preached to this people, and for the whole time, 
lacking two years, their pastor, — and he had the joy of welcom- 
ing one hundred and eighty-two to the Sacramental Feast. 
On the Sabbath preceding his death he preached from the 
text, " His rest shall be glorious." He lived in the house now 
occupied by Esquire Taintor, where he died July 22d, 1814, 
aged sixty-three. 

It was during his ministry that Dr. Benjamin Gale, who 
married a daughter of the Kev. Dr. Eliot, died. I refer to him 
because, in one sense, he stands connected with the history of 
this Church, and because I desire to call your attention to the 
fact that even then there were those in this place that were 
looking for the speedy destruction of the present order of 
things. He built the stone house, which, with some improve- 



2D 

ments, is now known as " The Clinton House." It is said 
that he had its walls made thick and strong, so that it might 
stand till he should rise from the dead, so that he could have 
a home to go to, and one that should look natural. Some 
state that he set out the cedar which stands in front of it, but 
others say, — which is far more probable, — that it was there at 
the first settlement of the town, and is therefore one of the 
oldest, if not the oldest tree in this section of the country, — a 
living link connecting us to " the long, long ago." He was 
buried according to his request, with his feet towards his 
home, facing the west, so that, as he said, the first thing he 
should behold on coming forth from the grave, would be his 
old Homestead. Well, the house still stands, and as far as I 
can judge, is likely to for years, — perhaps for centuries yet to 
come ; in front of it the cedar still sways, looking as if weary 
with its long vigil ; and for your comfort, who desire to so 
think, his dying wish may yet be gratified ; at any rate, those 
of you who may wish to visit his grave, will find the following, 
In letters almost effaced by the finger prints of time : 

*' In memory of Dr, Benjamin Gale, who, after a life of usefulness in 
his profession, and a laborious study of the prophecies, fell asleep May 
the 6th, A. D. 1790, ^t. 75, fully expecting to rise again under the 
Messiah and to reign with Him on Earth. ' I know that my Redeemer 
liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the Earth, and mine 
eyes shall Behold Him and not another.'" 

Eev. Hart Talcott was the sixth pastor. He was born at 
Bolton, Conn., graduated with honor at Dartmouth College in 
1812, studied theology at Andover, where, at the end of three 
years, he graduated with the highest honors of his class, and 
was licensed by the Tolland Association, June 4th, 181G. He 
was invited to preach in the 1st Congregational Church of 
New Haven, and but for his lack of voice would have received, 
it is said, their unanimous invitation to settle as their pastor. 

In 1817 he received and accepted a call to become pastor of 
this Church, and was ordained and installed the 11th of June 
of the same year. At his own request he was dismissed June 
14th, 1824. 

During the first part of his ministry here he lived on the 
place now owned by Mr. Horace Barker, in an old house which 



30 

has since been removed. In 1823 the Parsonage was erected, 
and he became its first occupant. After leaving here he was 
settled in Warren of this State, where he died in March, 1836, 
greatly beloved and lamented. " As a writer," says one that 
knew him well, " he was preeminent. His style was chaste, 
and his reasoning cogent. His sermons when ready for the 
pulpit were also ready for an Edinburgh Eeview. Had he 
possessed sufficient vocal powers, he could have commanded, 
as those well qualified to judge declare, some of the best loca- 
tions in our State or land. He was a man of excellent social 
qualities, — modest, unassuming, and only anxious to spend 
and be spent in his Master's service." 

During his pastorate of six and one-half years, eighteen 
were gathered into the Church. 

After his dismission, a serious division arose in the Church 
in regard to employing the Rev. Peter Crocker, against whom 
charges of immorality were circulated. So bitter became the 
feeling, that a portion of the Church refused to listen to him, 
and, having withdrawn, worshiped by themselves. There being 
dissatisfaction also with the Consociation on account of the 
course the members pursued, formal votes of secession from the 
Consociation were passed at Church meetings h'eld on May the 
5th and June the 28th, 1830, which I will quote, in order to 
show how squarely they took their stand on pure Congrega- 
tional grounds : 

"At a regular meeting of the ist Church in Killingworth, held at the 
meeting house, this, the 28th day of June, 1830, it was voted, that this 
Church do not consider themselves in any way as a Consociated Church, 
and do stand on the same foundation and footing as it respects Consocia- 
tion, as the first Church of Christ in Guilford, which has never been 
Consociated, and that the Consociation have no right, nor any of their 
ministers, to intermeddle with the right of this Church to appoint its own 
officers, examine and receive members into the Church, or any other of 
the concerns of this Church, unless requested by the Church." 

On this new basis the Church were again united, and on the 
5th of Sept., 1831, at a regular meeting of the Church, it was 
unanimously voted : 

"That we concur with the 1st Ecclesiastical Society of Killingworth in 
giving the Rev. Luke Wood a call to settle with us in the work of the 
Gospel Ministry, and also to take pastoral charge of this Church." 



31 

And at a Church Meeting held on the 26th of the same 
month, the following action was taken, viz : — 

"Whereas, this Church and the ist Ecclesiastical Society in Killing- 
worth have given to the Rev. Luke Wood a call to settle with 
them in the work of the Gospel Ministry, and he having accepted 
the call, voted. That we sincerely invite those that once professed to 
belong to this Church, and are still in good standing, to come together 
with us upon the same foundation and standing, as it respects Consocia- 
tion, as the ist Church in Guilford ; and also all those that made a public 
profession of their faith, and partook of the Sacrament at the Union 
Prayer Meeting, held at the Meeting House in this place in the summer 
of 1830. And we also wish them to unite with us in the Installation and 
settlement of the Rev. Luke Wood over the Church and Society in the 
work of the Gospel Ministry." 

This was acceded to, and Mr. Wood was installed the 13th 
of October, 1831. 

I have given somewhat in full the action of the Church for 
two reasons : First, that the real condition of affairs in the 
Church might be seen ; and second, that it might be apparent 
to all how difficult and peculiar was the position of Mr. Wood. 
Great tact and skill were necessary to unite in one harmonious 
whole, the then so lately separate and discordant elements. 
That he was successful two facts will prove : First, the Church 
remained united ; and second, during his pastorate of two and 
one-half years, thirty-one were added to the Church, and all 
but two on profession of faith. He was dismissed March, 1834, 

Kev. Mr. Wood was born at Somers, Conn., in 1777 ; grad- 
uated at Dartmouth College in 1803 ; took his second degree 
in course, and also at Yale ; studied Theology with Dr. Em- 
mons ; was licensed by Hartford North Association, und or- 
dained pastor of the First Congregational Church of Water- 
bury, Conn., November 30th, 1808, where he continued till 
dismissed on account of severe sickness in 1817. Upon his 
recovery, he engaged in Missionary labors in other states, 
organizing, during the time, the Congregational Church in 
Agawam, Mass. ; after this he came to Killingworth. From 
here he went to Queechy, Vt. ; thence he became pastor of the 
Church in West Hartland, from which he was dismissed in 
1842, Being then far advanced in life, he returned to Somers, 



32 

his birth place, where he spent the remaining years of his life 
doing good, teaching a Bible class and occasionally j^reaching. 
The Eev. Mr. Wood died August 22d, 1851, aged 74. 

In the Congregational Journal of February 4tli, 1852, it is 
stated that — 

"His (Mr. Wood's) opinion on the subject of the education of the 
female sex more particularly, were formed on a high standard of female 
character. On this point his views were greatly in advance of the pre- 
vailing sentiment during the early years of his ministry; yet with the 
judicious and reflecting class of parents they had great weight ; and not 
a few among the more highly educated women of Connecticut owe, in 
part, their superior advantages to the influence of his views upon others." 

In the Congregational Quarterly of 1859, may be found the 
following : 

" Mr. Wood was eminently successful as a pastor, and did much to 
heal the wounds in Christ's Church, and to build up her waste places. 
His preaching was direct and practical in a good sense." 

The eighth pastor was Lewis Foster, who was born at Hart- 
land, Conn., in 1806 ; graduated at Yale College in 1831 ; 
studied at New Haven Theological Seminary ; was licensed by 
New Haven West Association in 1834, and was ordained and 
installed pastor of this Church, December 3d, 1834, and died 
October 27th, 1839, after a brief ministry of four years and 
ten months, during which eighty-one were gathered into the 
Church. 

Mr. Foster was a little above the medium height, and a 
little inclined to stoop. As a preacher he was earnest, argu- 
mentative and spiritual, the great, all absorbing desire of his 
life being to build up and advance the cause of Christ. He 
loved his flock deeply, his wife often hearing him in the quiet 
hours of the niglit, when he thought those around him wrapt 
in sleep, pleading with Grod for an outpouring of His Spirit 
upon the Church and people. It was during his ministry here, 
that the present Church edifice was erected, he preaching 
the dedication sermon from the text, " Thy way, God, is in 
the Sanctuary." 

His labors were eminently blessed, and having lived the 
same number of years that his Savior did, God called him fi-om 



33 

the scenes of earth, to the brighter and more radiant glories of 
heaven. He too sleeps in yonder yard, and at the head of his 
grave is a marble slab, erected by the members of his flock, as 
a slight token of the love they bore him ; a love which, to-day, 
after the lapse of more than twenty-eight years, is warm and 
glowing. 

One, who was a member of his flock and prized him highly, 
says : " His ministry was brief but very successful. He Avon 
the affection of his people by his ardent devotion to his work, 
and his earnest and successful labors in the vineyard of his 
master, as well as by his genial and kindly disposition. The 
record shows a larger accession to the membership of the Church 
during his ministry, than for the same length of time in its 
previous history." 

A friend relates the following incident illustrative of the 
predominant trait of his character. The people had assembled 
to erect the frame work of this building ; an unsuccessful at- 
tempt was made to raise a portion of it, when he stepped for- 
ward, and, amid the silent group, off'ered an earnest invocation 
for the blessing of Almighty God u})on their efforts to rear, for 
His worship and glory, this house of prayer. Quietly and 
rapidly every timber was then placed in position, without 
accident or delay. 

He was exceedingly sensitive. At one time he imagined that 
the people were dissatisfied with him, which lead him to indi- 
cate his purpose of leaving his field of labor ; but the spontane- 
ous protest of his people convinced him, that he had been mis- 
taken, and thereupon he remarked to one of the brethren, who 
assured him of the affectionate regard of his flock, that he 
was ready to live, labor and die among them, — which he did. 
One, that had ample opportunity for observation, says, '^ That 
the time usually occupied by young ministers in rehearsing their 
sermons, previous to entering upon the labors of the pulpit, 
was uniformily spent by him, pleading with God for His bless- 
ing to rest upon his efforts." The prosperity of Zion was the 
great burden of his life. His death was deeply lamented by 
his charge, who still treasure his memory so fragrant with all 
that is precious and lovely in a devoted, humble Christain 
character." — Truly, " the memory of the just is blessed." 
3 



34 

Orlo D. Hine, was the ninth pastor. He was born in New 
Milford, Conn. ; graduated at Yale College in 1837 ; licensed 
by New Haven West Association in 1840 ; was ordained and 
installed pastor of this Church, April 14th, 1841, and, at his 
own request, was dismissed October 25th, 1842, He was the 
first pastor of this Church after the town of Killingworth was 
divided, and the name of Clinton had been given to this por- 
tion, which was done at the May Session of the G-eneral As- 
sembly in 1838. During his pastorate, twenty-one united with 
the Church. He is now, and for the last eleven years has been, 
pastor of the Church in Lebanon, of this State. 

Enoch S. Huntington, was the tenth pastor, who was born 
in Ashford, Conn., September 30th, 1804 ; graduated at 
Amherst College, and studied Theology at Lane Seminary, 
Ohio. He spent the first of his ministerial life in the West, 
J) reaching for several years in G-roveland, Tazwell Co., 111. 
After a few years, his health failing him he was forced to come 
East. It was while at home, that he was recommended to this 
Church by Dr. Biles ; both he and the people being mutually 
pleased, he accepted a call to become their pastor, and was 
installed May 24th, 1843, and was, at his own oft expressed 
desire, dismissed March 26th, 1850. Sixty-eight united with 
the Church while he was its pastor. After leaving here he 
jjreached, as stated supply, to several Churches, and died in 
Danbury, Conn., April 7th, 1862, 

Mr. Huntington, soon after his settlement here, was blest 
with one of the most extensive revivals ever enjoyed by this 
people. He entered into the work with his whole heart, labor- 
ing early and late for the salvation of those out of Christ. 

His health, — none of the best at any time, — gradually failed 
him ; and being of a strong " nervo-billious temperament," 
aggravated by his labors in the West, he suffered, at times, 
intensely from melancholy, which unfitted him for mental or 
corporeal exercise. He would, when thus oppressed, seek 
retirement, being entirely incapacitated for visiting his flock, 
or making any suitable preparation for the Sabbath. Sermons, 
written with the greatest care, seemed, at such times, worth- 
less, and he would have destroyed many of his best produc- 
tions, had not his wife, having persuaded him to allow her to 



35 

examine them, put them away for safe keeping, till his 
despondency should be in a measure past. Often the whole ser- 
vice of the Sabbath was a terrible trial to him, feeling that his 
prayers were soulless, his preaching of no power, and he would 
go home and weep over what seemed to him his weak and 
inefficient efforts ; during such seasons, he thought himself 
unfit to preach, and would determine, without delay, to have 
a council called for his dismission. 

By the judicious management of his wife, who would 
urge him to take carriage exercise, his life was prolonged 
many years. The following incident will illustrate the nervous 
excitability of the man : The neighboring ministers, on a cer- 
tain occasion, were to meet at his house and take dinner with 
him. The butcher failed to appear with the desired beef, and, 
having sought in vain for a substitute, he came home all 
excitement, exclaiming, "Wife, wife ! what shall be done ? ten 
or a dozen brother ministers to take dinner with us, and we have 
nothing to give them !" " Do not worry. Mr. Huntington, you 
take care of the ministers, and I will attend to the table." "But 
wife, we must have something to eat, and I can find neither 
flesh, fish nor fowl." "Have faith, have faith, Mr. Huntington ; 
God will provide ; just leave it with Him." " Yes, but what 
will He provide, codfish and potatoes ? You are all faith, but 
I think it about time for works. Only look, — in one half hour, 
and my brethren will be here, and we have nothing for dinner." 
" True, but I assure you, that theie shall be enough and well 
cooked." While this debate was going on, a knock was heard, 
and upon going to the door, Mrs. H. found one of their 
parishioners, who said : " We have been killing some nice 
roasters, and, thinking that our pastor might like one, have 
brought this, which, I hope, may be acceptable." It is need- 
less to say, that Mr. Huntington felt rebuked ; and with tears 
he acknowledged his lack of faith in the loving and providing 
care of God. 

The eleventh pastor was James D. Moore, who began his 
ministry the tenth day of March, 1850, and ended his labors 
as pastor on Sunday, the 4th day of March, 1866 — a ministry 
of just sixteen years. As one result of his labors, one hundred 
and twenty-three were gathered into the Church ; and if those 



36 

who united on the first Sabbath in May, after his departure, 
be added, it will increase the number to one hundred and 
seventy-six. He is now pastor of the Congregational Church 
in Plainfield, Conn. 

Of him, or his, or his works, I need not speak. His pleasant 
face, his kindly beaming eye, his cordial greeting, his loving 
heart, — these are household treasures — present to you all. 
His deep and sincere sympathy especially endearing him to the 
afflicted. As a citizen, he was an ardent lover of his adopted 
country ; as a man, he was honored and respected ; as a pas- 
tor, he possessed the confidence of his flock, as one who really 
desired to do them good ; and as a friend, he was loved. He 
especially desired that his people might not only be Christians, 
but intelligent ones. 

Your present pastor was ordained and installed, May 23d, 
1867. 

In looking back over the history of this Church, we find 
that there have been, including the present, four " Meeting 
Houses." The first which was built at the first settlement, 
and lasted till the year 1700. The second was then built, for 
which a bell was procured in 1703 ; and in which galleries 
were made in 1709. In 1731, the third was erected, upon 
which a new steeple was raised in 1809, as is shown by the 
following entry by Mr. Mansfield : 

" 1809, June 1st. The new steeple was raised to the meeting house. 
The meeting house was then about seventy-eight years old." 

It faced the West, the principal entrance being on the South. 
It had gallaries, high pulpit on the side — under which was the 
Deacons' seat, — and its " pews " were high and square. In the 
foundation wall of this building, near the South-east corner, 
may be seen the stone step, which was at the South or principal 
entrance, worn smooth by the countless steps of our fathers 
and mothers who trod upon it entering into the house of 
God, — a sacred memento, and appropriately placed as one of 
the corner-stones of this Sanctuary. 

Some thirty years out of the two hundred, the Church has 
been without a pastor ; one half of this period elapsed between 
the dismission of Mr. Woodbridge and the settlement of Mr. 



37 

Pierson, in which " their pulpit was supplied, for longer or 
shorter periods, by several occupants. Among these, Rev. 
Mr. Bayly preached in the years 1G84-5 ; and in June of 
the latter year, a unanimous call was given to him to settle, at 
a meeting warned for tliat purpose, ' which was the number 
of twenty.' Another year passed without any permanent set- 
tlement being effected. When, in Sept., Id86, another vote 
was passed accepting his terms ; still no settlement was effected. 
In 1692 the Rev. Mr. Mather was acting minister, and in 
August a call was given to him to settle. He continued to 
preach sometime longer but was not installed." 

I have already stated that both Mr. Eliot and Mr. Mansfield 
preached nearly two years each, before becoming pastors by 
ordination and installation, but as the Church had jDreviously 
given them a call to become such, I regard them as pastors 
from the beginning of their ministry here. 

The average length of pastorates has been about fifteen 
years ; and if we deduct that of Mr. Wood and Mr. Hine, 
which united amounted to only four years, it will bring the 
average up to a little over eighteen years. 

Mr. Eliot's pastorate was the longest, being about fifty-six 
years ; Mr. Hine's was the briefest, being one year and a half. 

The annual additions to the Church were the laro-est durino; 
Mr. Foster's ministry, averaging almost seventeen ; the small- 
est during Mr, Talcott's — being less than three annually. 

There have been, including those now living, seventeen 
Deacons, fourteen of whom have finished their work, and have 
entered into their rest. They were men, generally, who were 
an honor to their office ; and so far as they are remembered, 
were considered worthy, pious men, sincerely desirous of pro- 
moting the interest of religion and morality in the Church and 
community ; inculcating, by their example, the duty of keep- 
ing holy the Sabbath day, which, with them, began with the 
going down of the sun on Saturday. Then all work would be 
suspended, and the time devoted to preparation for the duties 
of the coming day, and no little thing kept them from being 
promptly present, with their families, at the services of the 
Church. As sunset Saturday night began, so sunset Sunday 
eve closed the Sabbath. 



38 

Of the thirteen hundred and sixty-two, who have become 
members of this Church since its organization, one thousand, 
at least, have mouldered back to dust. Many of them are 
sleeping in yonder cemetery, among whom, as guardian shep- 
herds, five of your former pastors keep watch — Pierson, Eliot, 
Huntington, Mansfield — the youth winner, as he was called, — 
and Foster, the devoted, but too early called.* 

There, too, rests the tuneful Redfield, whose life was a 
speaking witness of the deep Christ-love, which, as a gushing 
fountain, lived within his soul. His loving words, his earnest 
prayers, his songs of praise, — these have written themselves 
upon your hearts ; and well do many of you remember the 
last time his faltering voice was heard, joining in with yours, 
in the closing hymn, as you went forth from the Sacramental 
Board. 

Then, too, what sweet and precious memories cluster around 
the name of John L. Hull ; seldom heard, but always working 
for Christ ; whose daily life and consistent walk were fitting 
exponents of the living, loving, clinging faith, which made him 
what he was, — a devoted husband, an affectionate father, a 
kind neighbor, a good citizen and a worthy and exemplary 
Christian. 

Let these two, whose memories are so fragrant and precious, 
be types of many, many, whose names I may not speak, who 
have here lived, and labored, and who, by a loving Father, have 
been taken from the Church militant, and are now the enrolled 
and rejoicing members of the Church triumphant. 

During the two hundred years now gone, Grod has given 
many a gracious token of His presence. Time and again has 

* The first Marriage, Birth and Death found recorded are the fol- 
lowing : 

" John Meigs and Sarah Wilcox were married the 7th day of March, 
1665." 

" Hannah, the Daughter of Joseph Wilcox, was born the 19th day of 
January, 1665." 

" William Haydon died the 27th of Sept., 1669." 

The oldest stone in the Clinton burial ground, has cut on it the letters 
" M. G,"' with the date 1670. 



^W?/ 



""^^-6. . 



39 

His Spirit been poured out upon this people, — glorious harvest 
times when many precious souls have been gathered into His 
Garner House. 

How sacred, in the spirit life of this Church, should be the 
years 1711, '14, '21, '25, '31, '36 and 1757, in which Mr. Eliot, 
by the blessing of God, welcomed more than five hundred to 
the ComTnunion of this Church. Yes, scattered all along- 
through these two centuries, have been precious seasons of 
refreshing from the presence of the Lord, causing plants of 
righteousness to spring up and strengthen this vine of His love. 

The last of these occurred in 18(56, and was a beautiful 
illustration of the loving care of the Redeemer for His Church, 
as well as of the prophetic words, "He shall come down as 
rain upon the mown grass, like showers that water the Earth." 
With no pastor, and having no ministerial labor, save on the 
Sabbath, still the work went forward, quietly, yet with power, 
till more than fifty, — many of whom were from the Sabbath 
School, — were gathered, as precious fruit, into the bosom of the 
Church. 

At some of the most prominent points in the history of this 
Church I have now glanced ; photographed, though dimly and 
imperfectly, its former pastors, of whom all, save two, have 
entered into their rest ; have spoken of the three Church 
buildings, which were but are not, — which, together with this, 
have all stood on this very hill, and near the spot where this 
now stands ; called to mind the more than ten hundred, who, 
as we trust, have past on from here to the rest and joy of 
heaven ; and have reminded you of God's loving and watchful 
care towards you as a Church and people ; and now, as we 
stand here on this rocky, but oh, how sacred hill, and let our 
eyes glance back over the two hundred years to the birth morn 
of this Church, and behold what the world was then, and what 
it is now, we cannot but feel, and be deeply and movingly 
impressed with the fact, that they have been most important 
centuries in the civil, educational and religious history of 
the world. 

Only forty-seven years had then past since our Pilgrim 

Fathers landed at Plymouth Rock, — yea, many were then living, 

J, who had been the subjects of Elizabeth, England's most noted 



40 

queen, and some who had spent many a pleasant and never to 
be forgotten hour with the immortal Shakespeare. 

Upon these shores the red man made his home, — here lived 
and died. Nay, our whole, broad, beautiful land was almost 
a howling wilderness. The vast, fertile prairies, where now 
stand mighty cities of rapid growth, and well cultivated fields 
are found, were then the Indians' hunting ground, untrodden 
by the white man, unexplored and unexplorable. Then we 
were the subjects of England. The thought of an independent, 
free government had not been conceived, much less born. In 
England the licentious Charles II was unvailing to the world 
his total depravity. 

Only six years had past since Louis the XIV, to the State 
officials, who, at the death of Mazarine, his chief minister^ 
had asked " to whom in the future they must address them- 
selves on public business," had given this significant and ever 
memorable reply, "To myself I" Milton, the heaven-inspired 
poet, still lived, and, perchance, the out-breathings of his 
devoted heart may have brought down upon this then new 
born Church, the rich and life-giving blessing of that God whom 
he so loved. Peter the Great, who, in more senses than one, 
may be regarded as the father of the vast empire of Russia, was. 
not yet born ; and William of Orange had not flooded Holland 
and thus repelled the invading hosts of France. Such a thing 
as a really free government was unknown. It loas an age of 
Despotism, when might made right. 

Since then what changes have taken place. What men have 
lived. What fearful scenes have been enacted. What glo- 
rious triumphs to human Uberty have been gained. What 
fearfully bloody revolutions have swept over France. What 
untold horrors have been enacted in the Bastile. How has 
earth trembled beneath the excited tread of contending armies. 
All the battles of Wellington hav^e been fought. Napoleon, 
inspired by the spirit of War, and impelled by the demon 
Ambition, has come, written his name in blood, and long since 
has departed from a startled, wondering, admiring world. 
The Inquisition, that hell-born instrument of death and tor- 
ture, — worse than death, — has been forever banished. 

In our own land, scenes no less wonderful and important 
have transpired. The events of the Indian wars have past. 



41 

The long seven years' struggle, put forth to attain our inde- 
pendence, with all concurrent events, has become, for these 
eighty years, part of the history of the past. 

Liberty with us has become a reality ; and from a weak 
dependent we have grown stalwart and strong, so that to-day 
we grasp with one hand the turbulent Atlantic and with the 
other the milder Pacific, while the Arctic Ocean on the North, 
and the Gulf on the South, indicate our latitude. Well forged 
shackles have been broken, the enslaved have been set free, 
and we stand to-day a representative people. And not alone, 
for throughout all the nations of the world, the spirit of human 
liberty, emanating from us, is at work, so that to-day it is not 
the man but the ^nasses, that rule. 

Like wonderful transformations have taken place in the edu- 
cational world, the results of which have filled lake, river, 
sound and ocean with floating palaces, steam-impelled ; 
spanned our country with railroads ; spread out like living 
threads, the electric wire, which with one swift bound leaps 
across the ocean, and will soon flash its messages around the 
world. Yea, results too great and grand to be grasped at once, 
have been attained since Pierson — ever to be honored name — 
became first President of Yale College. 

If to-day he is permitted to look down upon us assembled 
here, where once he lived and labored, and with deep and anx- 
ious interest and steadfast hope, watched over and prayed for 
success of the then youthful College, and see it loaded with the 
thickly clustering honors of almost two centuries, already 
become America's noblest and best University, owning as her 
children more than nine thousand, who have gone forth from 
her various departments, who have proved, and are now j^roving 
in numberless ways, powers for good in the world ; and that 
holds, in her arms to-day, seven hundred young men, lacking 
one, that one being equal to the nmnber in the Senior Class in 
1702 ; if he is permitted from his distant home, — and per- 
chance not so distant as we sometimes think, — to see all this, 
and the noble, learned and justly celebrated band of men that 
now have charge of its educational interests, and you,* its most 

* President Woolsey was not able to be present on account of sickness, 
but Professor D. C. Oilman being his representative, he, (Pres. W.,) is 
addressed as though present. 



honored head, sitting in the same chair in which he sat, while, 
like yourself, he was President of the College, then surely his 
spirit heart must glow, and his joy must receive a deeper thrill, 
as he beholds these already perfected results of his labors. 

In the religious world, the change has been none the less 
marked. Freedom to worship God according to the dictates 
of one's own conscience, was a dream which few, even if any, 
hoped or expected would ever prove a reality. But to-day, no 
" Blue Laws" or laws of bigoted proscription mar or deface our 
statutes. Baptist, Methodist, — a name then unknown, — 
Episcopalian, or what not, may now, without let or hin- 
drance, worship God. To-day, throughout the broad earth, 
no martyr stakes are erected ; no cruel flames, with their hiss- 
ing, fiery tongues eat up the quivering flesh ; no instruments 
of cruel torture in the hands of heartless men, make life a 
curse, or force the heart to stay its beatings ; these are all 
things of the past, and have become so since, on this hill, the 

WATCH-FIRES OF God'S TRUTH WERE KINDLED. 

Truth was walled out then ; now, the walls are broken down ; 
then, mankind were groping their way, seeing but dimly the 
way of life ; now, in fulfillment of Christ's blessed promise, — 
to draw all men unto Himself, — they have been lifted up into 
the purer atmosphere of a higher, holier life ; they see more 
clearly the truth — they better understand their real wants, so 
that from even Priest-ridden Italy, and lust-enslaved Turkey, 
comes the cry : " Send, oh, send us Light and Life," — the 
Missionary and the Bible ! 

With all these revolutions in State and Church, with all the 
mighty changes in the civil, educational and religious world, 
this Church stands connected. Its life has formed a part of 
the great life which has existed around it. The spiritual influ- 
ence which has gone forth from this sacred hill during the two 
hundred eventful years now past, has helped make the world 
what it is. The holy longings and the deeper pulsations of its 
inner life, have not only called down the blessings of God here, 
but have infused new life and power into His entire Catholic 
Church, so as a living branch of the true vine there is a fresher 
vitality here. Just as the rough, uncouth and stony surface of 
this hill, as it was two hundred years ago, has been wrought 



43 

upon by the strong arm of man, and still stronger hand of 
time, till, compared with what it was, it is a beauteous lawn, 
dipping to the south and east and west, but with the same 
everlasting granite for its base, so, some of the rough points 
which may have marred the outer beauty of the Church here 
planted, have been brushed away by the changes of the past, 
but the same real spirit-life remains ; upon the same immova- 
ble, eternal Foundation- Stone she rests. Here, there is no 
change. 

For one, I feel deeply grateful that Grod has given us this 
opportunity to celebrate the two hundredth anniversary of this 
Church, — a vine of His own planting, — that He has granted us 
this blessed, interest-fraught season to travel back over the past, 
and greet those who have gone on before us, and whom, ere 
long, we shall join in a never ending union. 

And as I glance over the names of the under shepherds, who 
have been sent by God to watch and feed this flock ; when I 
contemplate the character of Woodbridge, the sterling worth 
of Pierson, whose efforts in behalf of education have been so 
wonderfully blest ; the intellectual power of Eliot, who 
was instrumental in gathering into the bosom of the Church 
more than five hundred immortal souls ; when in fine I call 
to mind the worth and work and character of those who have 
been pastors of this Church, — from Woodbridge to Moore, — I 
feel that you have reason to rejoice and praise Grod for his 
great and continued goodness to you as a Church and a people. 

And as to-day, in our history as a Church, we clasp hands 
with long ago, even as the green leafed 1867 7'eaches backward 
io the sere leafed 1667, and the verdant and smooth hand of 
the present clasps the dry and luithered of the past, so with 
the hand of a living faith, let us, reaching upward and for- 
ward, clasp closely the hand of those who have gone hefore, 
and thus, with one hand in heaven and the other on 
earth, — one resting on mortality, the other grasping 
Immortality, — let us plant our feet more firmly on the 
EocK, Christ Jesus, and like our fathers, as was their 



44 

wont at the settlement of each new pastor,* solemnly 
renew our Covenant Votvs, to live henceforth more to His 
glo7^y, the building up of His kingdom and the gathering of 
immortal souls. 

* It was the custom of the early Fathers of this Church at the settlement 
of each new pastor to declare their " adhearance to the Doctrine of 
Faith and Covenant which were agreed upon and signed by our Rev. 
Pastor, the Rev. John Woodbridge^" and others. 

Note 2d. — The Cong. Church in what was then North, but now 
Killingworth, was organized in May, 1735. 

THE ORIGINAL CONFESSION OF FAITH AND COVENANT 
OF THE CHURCH. 

The Doctrine of faith. And the Covenant in and according unto which 
the Church of Christ at Kelinworth in the ffirst Imbodying of it was and 
yet is Ingaged unto God and their Duty. 

I Believe that there is only one true, living, and Eternal God ; infinite 
in his being, truth holyness, power, wisdom, justice and goodness distin- 
guished into and subsisting in three glorious and undivided persons who 
are the same in substance. Essence & Attributes, equall in glory power 
and Majestic : yet distinguished by their Relative & personall properties. 
The ffather beeing the first in order & orignall, begetting the Son. The 
Son the second beeing begotten of the fFather. The holy ghost the third 
proceeding both from the fFather & the Son. That this God is the 
Almighty Creator, the sovereigne, wise and just upholder, desposer & 
Governour of all his Creaturs, & all their actions. That man being 
created after his Image, in a state of Integrity & Blessedness hath now 
suffered the Loss of both, by his disobedience to, and his disunion from 
God, and is by nature in a state of spiritual weakness, enmity, pollution, 
guilt unrighteousness & wrath, 

I believe that when the fullness of time was come, God the ftather 
sent his true, only & eternall Son, true God and equall with the fFather 
to take upon him the nature of man, that so subsisting in and consisting 
of two distinct natures, & one undivided person, he might be a fitt 
mediator between, & reconciler of God & man ; and an efficacious and 
sufficient Redeemer of man, by price and power, which Son of God being 
Anointed the King, Priest and Prophett of the Church, did execute his 
office by his obeying the Law, revealing the Gospell, suffering Death, and 
now presenting before the fFather his Righteousness, Death and merites, and 
in sending the holy spirit to inlighten, convince, call and sanctify all those 
that are given unto him, who, being enabled to believe in his name in the 



45 

Anniversary Hymn, written by Miss Wealtha Maria 
Hilliard. 

Sung to the old Tune of "Stafford." 

"We gather, in this Autumn time, 

To ofTer notes of grateful praise 
To Him whose goodness crowns the year, 

Whose glories shine through endless days. 
• 

We praise Thee, that in counsels wise, 

Of Thy most gracious, sovereign will, 
Thou didst ordain this Viiie to stand 

Upon this consecrated hill, — 

And that for these Two Hundred years 

Thy never-tiring, loving hand 
Hath nurtured it, caused it to spread, 

And made it flourish in the land. 

day when God, having raised them from the dead, shall judge all men 
according to their works, shall be adjudged to eternal life, and all others 
to everlasting punishment according to the scriptures of truth, which I 
believe to be the very word of God, and the only rule of faith & 
manners^ 

This God in Jesus Christ I avouch to be my God 8c do promise and 
Covenant to have no other Gods before him, but as his spirit & grace 
shall enable me I will believe his truths, obey his will, and run the Race 
of his Commandments, walking before him & beeing upright exercising 
my self in duties of piety towards God, sobrietie towards my self, & Jus- 
tice and Charity towards others. And because Christ hath appointed 
spirituall administrations in his Church as the Sacraments to signifie, scale 
and exhibitt the benefitts of Christ, as also Admonitions for the unruley, 
censures for offenders, consolations for the penitent, teachings, quickenings, 
& exortations for all, I will truly countenance, & faithfully submit to the 
Regular dispensation of all in the Church of Christ in this place, and for 
the promoting of the same performe my injoyned & Respective duties 
unto others, that we may be all saved in the day of the Lord. 

JOHN WOODBRIDGE, 
EDWARD GRISWOLD, 
WILLIAM HAYTON, 
JOSIAH HULL, 
HENRY FFARNAM, 
And one hundred others " were Ingagcd in the Covenant above men- 
tioned before the year 1694." 



46 

"We praise Thee, that thy love didst send 
Thine husbandmen to train tlie Vine, 

And that it prospered 'neatli their care : 
The glory, Lord, we own, is thine. 

May every branch united be 

To Christ, the true and living vine, 

Till on each one the fruits of life 
In rich, abundant clusters shine. 

And when that fruit shall ripened be, 
'Neath beams of God's perfecting grace, 

He shall prepare, for each glad soul. 
In realms of bliss, a welcome place. 

Where, with the saints of ages past, 
And all who yet redeemed shall be, 

With Christ, our ever-blessed Lord, 
We'll reign through all eternity. 

BENEDICTION. 



At the close of this service, cordial invitations were 
given for aU to visit the basement of the Church, where 
a sumptuous entertainment, provided by the ladies, 
awaited them. Some three hundred persons were boun- 
tifully supplied. 

At this Thanksgiving Festival of the Church, her 
sons and daughters, with their guests, gathered around 
a table heaped with a liberal hand, with the best pro- 
ductions of a fruitful season, arranged with taste and 
skill. There were oysters, chicken pies, roast turkeys, 
chickens, ducks, roast pig, boiled ham and tongue ; 
puddings, cakes and pastry, all looking as if they had 
come on purpose to grace this Thanksgiving Feast. 
The pumpkin pies were fully equal to the support of 
New England's ancient renown in that line, and the 
■time-honored pork and beans were not forgotten. 



47 

Patient and skillful fingers had wrought many and 
curious devices in cake and pastry, among which the 
figures « 1667," and "200/' often appeared. 

Boquets, arranged by Miss Marietta W. Hull, of the 
beautiful late blooming flowers of this region, adorned 
the tables. 

Old friends here met, exchanging cheerful greetings. 
One tie binding all together, the remembrances of the 
past. 

At two o'clock the audience reassembled. The choir 
giving the anthem, "0/ conu, let us sing unto the 
Lord:' 

In response to a call from the moderator. Prof. D. 
C. Oilman, of Yale College, (who had been seated in 
the old oaken chair which once belonged to Rector 
Pierson,) then made a short address, in which he 
described the early connection of Yale College with the 
town of Killingworth, and paid a tribute of respect to 
the first rector* of the " Collegiate School of Connec- 
ticut," the pastor also of the church now celebrating 
its two hundredth anniversary. He quoted a letter 
from Rev. Dr. Vermilye, of New York, referring to a 
silver tankard once belonging to the rector, which was 
for a while handed down from one generation to 
another as an heir-loom, but of which the trace, for the 
moment at least, has been lost. He remarked that Old 
Killingworth should be regarded by scholars as one of 
the shrines of American education, and promised to do 
what he could to secure a Memorial Stone, with a suit- 
able inscription upon it, to mark the spot where the 
earliest senior classes of Yale College were taught. 

He also mentioned that the Rev. Dr. Jared Elliot, 
successor of Rector Pierson, in the church, was like- 

* Rev. Abraham Pierson. 



48 

wise a celebrated man, a graduate and trustee of the 
College, a physician and a scholar, the author of a trea- 
tise on Field Husbandry, and the friend and corres- 
pondent of Dr. Benjamin Franklin. We may presume, 
he said, that Franklin on his journeys from Philadel- 
phia to Boston, took the Shore Line Route, like a sensi- 
ble man, stopping at his friend, Dr. Elliot's, to talk 
over the scientific topics of the day. 

J rof. Grilman expressed his regret that President 
Woolsey had been detained from this festival by ill- 
health, and in conclusion he urged the present genera- 
tion to emulate the love of learning, the devotion to 
education, and the Christian virtues of those Worthies 
of the past whose services had been in the morning so 
fully recounted. 

The next in order, was Mr. Wm. L. Kingsley, Editor 
of the New Englander, whose theme was the patience 
and perseverance of the early settlers. He related a 
story illustrative of this. 

A welcome guest was the Rev. James D. Moore. 
The sight of his face, and the sound of his voice, 
awakening tender memories in the hearts of many. 
He who for sixteen years had been identified with the 
interests of the Church, as its pastor, and who had 
given much time and patient research of the records of 
the past, was well prepared to speak of its early history. 

He remarked that the storm of the preceding day, 
and the chilling cold of that, furnished fitting types of 
the trials and hardships* they endured, who here 

* Killingworth, Dec. ye 20th, 1720: 
* * * * * # # 

Also it was agreed by voat that there shall be allowed 2S. per head for 

Every fox or wild cat that shall be killed within the town Bounds and to 

be paid out of the town treasurey, they that shall kill any fox or wild cat 

to bring the head thereof to the selectmen. 



49 

planted this " vine of the Lord," which had been such 
a mighty influence for good in all this region. 

" There are two interesting facts connected with the original 
and the present names of this place. One is that Killing- 
worth is a corruption of the first true name ; the other is, that 
Clinton is the same name slightly varied. The name origin- 
ally given to the place (upon passing from Homonoseit Plan- 
tation into a township) was Kenilworth, from a town in War- 
wickshire, England, from which place some of the first settlers 
are supposed to have come. In the course of a few years, we 
find by the town records, it came to be spelt Kelimvorth, by 
the transposition of the I and n, doubtless in accordance with 
a similar change in the pronunciation. By the end of the cen- 
tury it became, by a horrible metamorphosis, Killingivorth , 
which form (as evil, by a law of its nature, is persistent,) it 
still retains. The same change occurred in England, where 
the town in Warwickshire has in like manner become Killing- 
worth. 

When the south part of the original Killingivorth was con- 
stituted into a new town, the name Clinton was chosen, in 
honor of Governor De Witt Clinton, like the long list of 
towns and counties of that name in the United States. It is 
unfortunate that the original name, Kenihvorth, had not been 
selected, but as it was not, the name Clinton is the next best 
that could possibly have been adopted. It is, in fact, the 
same name. The first syllable, Clin, is manifestly only a 
slight change of the first corruption, Kelin, and the last sylla- 
ble of each, ton and worth, have essentially the same significa- 
tion, namely, an inclosure ; ton or ticn, in the old Saxon, was 
a fenced hill or fortification ; luorth, was a fenced place, a court, 
or castle. Making for the town a name full of meaning, with 
God's everlasting hills on the north, and the restless, murmur- 
ing sea on the south. 

Nor does this identity of the names rest only on etymology. 
It is also proved by historic fact. 

Kenilworth, England, was the barony of Sir Geoffrey de 
Clinton, chamberlain and treasurer of Henry the first, and who 
in the reign of Henry the second built there the famous Kenil- 
4 



50 

worth Castle. It is most probable, therefore, that the name of 
the place (the fief,) was Clinton, or Kenilton, as these barons 
took title from the name of their barony. Hence, when Sir 
Geofirey de Clinton built his castle, he called it Kenilworth, or 
Kenilcastle." 

The Rev. James A. Gallup followed Mr. Moore, and 
interested and amused the audience with a sketch of 
his " thoughts by the way." He had been wondering 
if this aged sister, who to-day was holding her Two 
Hundredth Birthday Party, would appear in the cos- 
tume of ye olden time, with her cap and spectacles. If 
her voice would be faltering, her sight dim, her steps 
tottering with the infirmities of age. On the contrary, 
he had found that her bonnets were as fashionable, her 
eyes as bright, her form as erect and as full of the life 
and vigor of youth as her younger sisters. Might he 
not conclude that she had been the especial care of her 
Father, who had made her to be eternally youthful, 
beautiful, immortal. 

Poem — Glimpses of the Years — written by Mrs. 
George B. Hilliard, and read by Mrs. Maria Josephine 
Warren. 

GLIMPSES OF THE YEARS. 

Friends, would ye look with fancy's gaze 

Through the vista of Two Centuries ? 

Come where the Indian River flows, — 

Where the red men paddled their bark canoes. 

Here, in later times, the stately ship 

Was built, and launched for the ocean trip ; 

Now, thousands of human beings ride 

On iron rails, o'er its swelling tide. 

On its grassy bank, which our fathers chose 

A shrine for their sacred trust, 

Our treasures rest in death's repose, 

Dust mingling with the dust I 

On the hill-top o'erlooking the river and lea, 

The sparse settled hamlet, and blue, rock-bound sea, 

Stands a monument, true to the faith of our sires. 

The Church of their God, with its heaven-pointing spires. 



51 

See here, the foundations of time-houored Yale, — 

And there, a stone school house, where old " Master Teal," 

At the blazing hearth, with book on his knee, 

Taught the children to say the A, B, C, 

And showed the far-advanced, minister's son 

How the intricate " Rule o' Three" was done. 

But the Puritan's Church, with its large, square pews, 

And very high pulpit, is long out of use. 

Then, the pastor no gloomy "Shady Side" found. 

His salary was paid in pork by the pound, 

And wood, corn, and grain ; cheese, butter, and flax ; 

And a little " pin money" just settled the tax. 

The Puritan mothers, with pious care. 

Took thought for the minister's family wear. 

In each donation basket with riches fraught. 

The notable " skein o' yarn" was brought ; 

Producing a fabric, the parish pride, 

When a skillful hand the shuttle plied. 

The red, low-roofed houses, with chimneys of stone. 

And mammoth fire-places, are nearly all gone. 

The architect copies their model no more, 

Nor housewife, for carpet, strews sand on the floor. 

Theifd no marble-top tables, with books bj' the score. 

But honored and blessed was their ancient lore, — 

The Bible, and Psalm-book, and famed " Catechise," 

And " Old Saybbook Platform," so reverently prized. 

No news-boy came, night, and morning, and noon, 

"With "New York Daily Times, Sun, and Tribune;" 

The news came, jogging along the post line 

In saddle-bags, safe, but not always "on time." 

Intelligence traveled at tardy rate. 

Ere steam power and lightning came to compete. 

But see I round the world on the wings of flame 

Is borne through the darkness " His wonderful name." 

The vales are exalted, the mountains brought low. 

And a pathway is fouud for the ransomed to go. 

Hear! Earth's joyful millions respond to the thought 

^Qnt first on the telegraph, " What hath God ivrotighi T 

Singing, — "Guide me, Oh! Thou Great Jehovah." 

The next speaker, Lewis Elliott Stanton, elo- 
quently compared the privations of the past with the 
privileges of the present. He said, — 

" While listening to the Historical Discourse, I have been 
thinking what curious changes have occurred in Clinton since 
our ancestors came up to the house of God, upon this sacred 
hill, at the sound of Samuel Gris wold's church-going drum. 



52 

" What an unusual sight to witness, as the various house- 
hold groups draw near the church. The head of the family, 
instead of carrying the light walking stick of to-day, is man- 
fully shouldering his gun.* 

" The pastor has alluded to the Class of 1702. What joys 
and sorrows, hopes and fears, must have concentrated upon 
that Senior Class of one ! Who took the Valedictory ? Who 
delivered the Latin Oration ? Who carried off the Wooden 
Spoon ? and who, I shudder at the inquiry, was the poorest 
scholar in that Class ? 

" You have spoken, sir, of Mr. David Kedfield. But you 
never heard him sing. We remember how he made melody, 
with heart and voice, and many of us reflect upon the sublime 
and impressive words with which he invariably opened his 
prayer, ' ! Thou who art from everlasting to everlasting, the 
same unchangeable God.' 

" Friends, how many of you have forgotten the old Oak Tree 
in the grave yard ? The Bible says, ' Cursed be he who 
removeth his neighbor's landmark,' and I could almost pro- 
nounce a similar malediction upon any who should have cut 
down that ancient and revered landmark. Through many a 
generation it guarded the resting place of your ancestors ; for 
the past few years withered, and with only a few leaves at the 
top, then leafless and dead ; and the last time I saw it, the old 
tree had fallen, and lay among the graves, stretching bare arms 
to the sky. The sentinel oak is gone, and many of this audi- 
ence have more friends who have been laid to rest under its 
branches than they have among those who are walking the 
earth in God's blessed sunlight. 

" A good story is told of Dr. Elliot. He was careless of 
temporalities. His wife attended to them. The deacons paid 
him a quarter's salary one day. They were afraid he would 
give away the money. So they tied it up — none of our mod- 

* August : 15 : 1696. 
At a meeting : the town thought it nescary to have a guard to attend 
the meting Saboth Days : they agreed and voted that if 8 men wold 
Appeer to attend that sarvice, they should have : 2 : Shillings a pece 
allowed them in their town rate. 



53 

ern greenbacks, but good bard silver — in a silk handkerchief, 
in a great many knots. Going home, he met a poor woman, 
whose wants touched his heart. He tried to untie the knots, 
but the deacons' precaution proved too much for him. After 
working a while without success, he broke out with, ' Well, 
my good woman, I believe the Lord intends you shall have it 
all/ and handing over the handkerchief and silver, rode homo 
to his prudent wife, with joy in his heart, but no money in his 
saddlebags. 

"Eventful two hundred years! 1667, the licentious era of 
the Restoration ; 1867, the era of liberty and peace, of new 
liberty for the slave, and of stable peace for all the people. 
' Qid transtulit sustinef,' were, in 1667, words of faith and 
hope ; in 1867, they are words of assurance ; they illustrate 
the history of this Church and community. By the blessing 
of God, our ancestors wrought and conquered ; under the bles- 
sing of God, we inherit the fruit of their labors." 

Mr. Stanton continued with a variety of local and 
personal anecdotes illustrative of the olden time, and 
the history of the Church and Town. 

The Rev. Wm. E. Brooks desired to express his 
thanks for the experiences of the day, which had been 
signally blessed to him. Being comparatively a stran- 
ger, having been called to this pastorate but a few 
months previous, he had known little or nothing of the 
Church's history. But in making the preparations for 
the Historical Address, he had been compelled to delve 
into the old records, bringing out all the facts possible, 
until he had felt himself pervaded by a new and pow- 
erful affection for every thing pertaining to her life and 
growth. Happy in the thought that he had been 
called to work where such noble and efficient laborers 
had in their day and generation wrought. Pointing to 
the motto over the pulpit, he said,— 

'-' This motto, that has been like a spirit of inspiration to 
me and whose language of assurance we with full hearts can 



54 

to-day adopt, may the future years as they come and go, prove 
still more especially ours. As we together go hand in hand 
down to the night of time, may there dawn for each one pres- 
ent, the morn of a blissful eternity." 

Hymn, composed by Miss Wealtha Maria Hilliard. 

Tune—" Old Hundred.'" 

Anew we gird the armor on; 

We grasp with firmness, faith, our shield ; 
Hope's hehnet place upon our brow. 

And fain the Spirit's sword would wield. 

We turn our faces to the foe ; 

The hosts of sin come pressing on ; 
We fight not with the arm of flesh ; 

By love, alone, the vict'ry's won. 

We conquer in His mighty name, 

Who triumphed over death and hell ; 
What trophies in His name we'll win, 

Eternity alone can tell. 

We'll march beneath the cross of Christ, 

Till our brief warfare shall be o'er. 
Then wear the crown His hand bestows. 

And sing His praise forever more. 

Doxology — sung as only an audience can sing, whose 
hearts are all alive with emotion — "Praise God, from 
whom all blessings flow." 

Benediction by the Pastor. 



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